章節 42: 0041 Revisiting old haunts
There are many benefits to forming a chamber of commerce.
First, the triangular trade could be expanded from just three black ports to all official civil ports.
The prerequisite is, of course, a trade license from the country or autonomous region.
Secondly, it can enjoy the statutory tax rate which is far lower than the black port rate, and further enjoy the policy dividends such as tax rebates and reductions as the trade volume rises and the size of the Chamber expands.
Thirdly, legally protected trade contracts can be signed to ensure trade security.
Crucially, with growing tensions between Europe and the northwest, the Chamber of Commerce was in desperate need of truly armed merchant ships.
Armed merchant ships, that is, gunboats.
Thicker hulls, better ship materials, and guns configured on top ...
These things are not available everywhere.
Each country has its own secret recipes for building ships and guns, and in order to prevent the technology from being exported, laws often prohibit unqualified individuals or groups from purchasing ships and guns.
That's the way it is in the UK.
Only the national chambers of commerce could buy ships and guns through regular channels, and those regions with advanced seafaring industries had even further restrictions to maintain their technological lead in the field.
Ships and guns of unknown origin are naturally available on the black market, just for the price of ...
A brand new Brigantine costs only £4,000 to build in the UK, whereas the black market for a fully paperworked second hand boat is at least £5,000, for what it's worth, not for what it's worth.
Artillery is even more outrageous ...
It was like the medium-range six-pounder Lorraine had bought the other day, an entry-level gun with an official subscription price of only £150.
And he bought 16 doors at an average price of ... 400 pounds per door.
Lorraine did the math.
To build a brand new Brigantine, £4,000, with ten nine-pounders as standard, £3,500, eight six-pounders, £1,600, and two six-pounders short guns, £200, for a total of £9,300.
Buy a used Brigantine on the black market, £5,000, 20 six-pound medium guns, £8,000, total £13,000 ...
Spend more money on a worse boat ...
Forming a chamber of commerce may have been just a future and an ambition for Lorraine back then, it's a destiny for now ...
The matter finally became urgent!
Lorraine recruited her partners with the determination to fight for her life, not intending to accept opposition and well prepared to gain support.
They began to discuss the details.
First, Lorraine will register the Chamber in Plymouth.
Plymouth was chosen not because it was the ancestral home of the Drake family, but because, thanks to the Channel Fleet, the local shipbuilding and gun-casting industries were second to none in the world.
As long as there is money, any class of ship can be ordered there and any grade of gun can be bought, and the advanced fusiliers are even more important to the local chambers of commerce only.
Second, make reasonable concessions to partners.
Lorraine did not intend to cede shares of the General Council. At a time when the Drake Chamber of Commerce was still small, ceding less would be unsatisfactory to the partners, and ceding more would be unsatisfactory to Lorraine.
Councillor Piddick will enjoy 30% of the Chamber's future profits in the Scottish region, Sir Garman the Norwegian region, and Viscount Alfonso the Basque region.
Sharing the profits is their right, getting local trade licenses and coordinating the yin and yang of the chamber development process is their obligation.
The three plenipotentiaries were satisfied with this, and a new partnership was established on the spot, with Party A being the soon-to-be-established Drake Chamber of Commerce, and Party B being the three honorable families that enjoyed prestige in their respective regions.
The third component is the Chamber's equity.
Lorraine had a sole share of ninety percent, and promised another thirty percent of the profits to his core of seamen, the companions who were not on the payroll.
For the time being, they are Hina, Keren, and Noa.
Pierce is not on this list, he is the sole shareholder and future vice president of the Chamber, still enjoying the 10% of shares belonging to him, with full shareholder rights and obligations.
It was a fair distribution plan. His companions would grow, but so would the size of the chamber, and profits would only increase, with only very unexpected situations seeing a drop.
Part IV, Establishment of sub-chambers of commerce.
After the Chamber was formed, Lorraine would simultaneously form its first sub-chamber, the Northwest Europe Chapter.
The Chamber takes 70 percent of the chapter's equity, with the other 30 percent divided equally among Ramos, Eddie and Carmen at 10 percent each.
They are the shareholders of the chapter and the management and managers of the chapter.
Carmen was in charge of Western and Southern Europe, Eddie was in charge of Northern and Central Europe, and Ramos was in charge of the British Isles and matters relating to Ireland and Iceland.
At this stage, their main job is to obtain trade licenses from all the countries in these regions.
The three outstanding young men gladly accepted Lorraine's invitation, and the establishment of the Chamber of Commerce fell into place.
Having completed these preliminary preparations, Lorraine immediately announced that the Drake Merchant Group fleet had turned to rest.
The Attis Beauty, carrying Lorraine and Kron single-ship, sailed to Plymouth and, after two years, entered Pier 13 in Soto Harbor once again.
In the afterglow of the slanting sun, the dockyards, the wharves, the bustling harbor, the crowds of people going to and fro, and the tiny fishing boats that slip by from time to time on the sea, and, far out at sea level, a huge and majestic Royal Navy battleship ...
Everything here seems to have stayed the same as it was two years ago, nothing has changed, and there is not much apprehension about the war to be seen on people's faces.
They had a strong Channel fleet and the war was still far away and far from being a worry.
Lorraine stood at the bow of the ship, glancing at the familiar pier, and then at the Merchant Guild sailors who were busy on the deck of the Beauty.
It was rare for Keren to see Lorraine stoic, and he couldn't help but be curious.
"Captain, you're from Plymouth, aren't you?"
"Yes." Lorraine smiled and shook her head, "I know what you're going to ask, but it's not close to home."
"No?"
"Two years ago, I was banished from my family and spent all the money I had on me, exchanging it for a wagon ticket from Tavistock to Port Soto to get here."
"A sixteen-year-old boy, dressed in rags, eating black bread that was still sold for what was left of his father's belongings."
Keren blinked incredulously, "Is that how you ... started sailing?"
"Aye." Lorraine smiled sardonically, "No one wanted to take me in, it just so happened that Pierce's father wanted to sail and no one trusted him. That's how I came aboard the Atis Beauty, when there weren't even any sailors on board, and I was the only crew member."
"Pierce's Father ... Lake ..."
"Lek ..." Lorraine recalled Lek's simple, chubby face, the resemblance of which was already somewhat blurred, "I was an incompetent sailor and lost my captain on my first voyage."
"He ... heard that he died of illness on the voyage?"
As if he hadn't heard Keren, Lorraine just mumbled in a low voice, "That day Hena and I made a big mess in Cherbourg, killed a lot of people, set it on fire, then left France, picked up Piers, and then, next, abducted you in Elgin ... "
Keren drifted off, "Pierce told me Lake died of a fever while sailing and I thought it strange then. It was just a voyage across the channel, and with your skill, it's amazing that anyone could die ..."
"He died of a high fever." Lorraine turned back to Keren and gently patted his arm, "Don't be a smart ass, he died of a high fever."
"I understand ..."
"Go on as soon as you understand, and tell the sailors to take care of our beauties. This trip is a bit of a mixed bag of affairs, and we may have to stay a few more days."
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